SAR government dismisses Forbes article claims

The government on Thursday rejected accusations in a Forbes Magazine article that suggested that Hong Kong was being used as a hub by "rogue regimes" to conduct "illicit financial transactions and evade international sanctions." In a statement, the government hit out at the Forbes commentary, claiming it cited "false and unfounded narratives" from an anti-China group. It said the SAR was part of China and that UN Security Council sanctions had always been imposed in full. Without naming names, it said certain countries might impose unilateral sanctions against some places on the basis of their own considerations but that the SAR government did not have the legal authority to implement unilateral sanctions imposed by other countries. It said thanks to local law enforcement agencies, a number of suspected Hong Kong-registered companies had been struck off, and suspicious vessels had been denied entry into Hong Kong waters as part of its robust system to implement sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.